FOUR POT ADVOCATES SHOW UP FOR BUDGET HEARING

HILO - Four out of the five people who showed up at a public hearing Monday
on the county's 2002 - 03 fiscal year testified against money allocated
toward "Green Harvest."

Those testifying at the hearing included marijuana advocates Roger Christie
and Aaron Anderson, along with Sarah Taylor and Ina Campbell, both of Puna.
The fifth attendee did not testify but sat with those who did and gestured
his support for them by slapping his leg, nodding and muttering "give to 'em."

The County Council has scheduled another public hearing on the budget at 6
p.m. Wednesday at the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, conference room four.

Although next year's budget will not be finalized until May, council
members have begun the process of conducting budgetary reviews with county
departments.

They face the challenge of an $8.1 million shortfall in the $160 million
general fund, and 7.7 percent cuts within each department without an
increase in revenues.

For those testifying at Monday's public hearing, the focus was mostly on
the marijuana eradication program and two grants - $160,000 from the state
Department of Attorney General and $265,000 from the Drug Enforcement
Agency - to support the Green Harvest missions.

In addition to describing the program as "the Hawaii Taliban" creating "a
para - military civil war and an excuse to spy on all citizens," Christie
noted a resolution was passed last year allowing the county to receive
grant money toward the program - with conditions.

"Those conditions have not been met over one year later," said Christie,
noting that police are still working on the program's rules and regulations
which the County Council required them to draft. "The police continue to
operate on the money without meeting the conditions of the resolution and
now seek even more money. I call that a fraud on the taxpayers," he said.

Taylor told the council to "give the grant money back" and Campbell
suggested the money be instead spent on programs for the youth. Hilo
Councilwoman Bobby Jean Leithead - Todd said the grant money has to be used
specifically for marijuana eradication.

Campbell also spoke against a property tax increase, and she and Christie
referred to a list of police's objectives in the next fiscal year that was
submitted with their departmental budget.

Those objectives include "at least 900 arrests" and "at least 50,500
citations," which Campbell pointed out implies that the police "lie and
wait" to give citations in order to meet quotas.

After noting 50,500 citations is "one citation for every three people
living here," Christie asked the question, "Do we want our police
department desiring to issue 'at least 50,500 citations'? If so, I think we
have a police department that feeds like a vulture on the lives of our own
good people.

"It sounds like a quota system that needs to be changed to reflect serving
and protecting the citizens of Hawaii County, rather than treating us as a
source of revenue," Christie said.

Kona Councilman Curtis Tyler pointed out the state keeps the money paid for
traffic fines.